Catherine V Rivers has seen awareness around children’s emotions improve since she became a teacher. Now, she has written her own book hoping to help more children across the East London borough that gave her so much
An East London teacher has written a book to help children after seeing how important it was for early years students to have a space to understand their emotions. Catherine V Rivers, who has taught in Hackney for the last 18 years, experienced first-hand how the children she taught have benefited from her focus on emotional regulation.
Yet the Berger Primary School teacher felt there was more she could be doing. So she wrote her first book, building a story and characters that would help the children process and understand their feelings.
Just two months after the publication of The Kingdom of Colourful Feelings, Catherine has been shortlisted for two awards for the book by the GESS Education Awards and the Teach Early Years Awards. Even though the nominations are great for Catherine, she is even more passionate about helping SEND children in Hackney and beyond.
Catherine told MyLondon: “Hackney is the borough that supported me and my growth as a teacher. It’s also the place where I created this kingdom.
“If it weren’t for Hackney, there wouldn’t be a book. For me, it’s important to support children’s emotions and how they regulate them, but it’s also important to support families and school staff by providing a framework for how to approach their support for children.
“I decided to make the story a sensory adventure and give the children a place where they could feel seen.
“I gave my students a chance to draw some of the characters and the lands they go through. When I first came up with the idea, I thought it would just be a story they’d want to read.
“Now, I can see how schools and families can also take the resources home to support children’s emotional regulation. It helps support families in supporting children.”
The Kingdom of Colourful Feelings illustrates a land where children’s emotions are explored through ‘stories, ideas and creativity’. Using two twins as the characters, Clara and Leo, enter the magical Kingdom of Colourful Feelings, where four friendly creatures guide them through four colourful lands.
There are also three other books that can be used in partnership with the main story: a sensory adventure story for very young children, a ‘helping ideas’ book that shows each emotion and strategy and then a draw and explore book.
Along the way, children discover that every feeling has a place, every emotion is welcome there are simple strategies that can help when feelings become big. Catherine also helps to provide digital resources for use at home or in the classroom.
“It’s a book, but it keeps evolving because so much can be done with it. It’s important to show that every feeling has a place and every feeling is welcome. It’s also important to show how you are allowed to experience every emotion; it’s about how we can regulate it. If children are disregulated, they’re not ready to deal with anything else until they are regulated. That’s why it’s important to have that support in place”, Ms Rivers added.
To help other schools in the borough, she is also offering digital resources, including emotional regulation posters and strategies, that teachers can print and use in their settings
She added: “If I can do a little something to help that, then you know that’s great. If it’s made a difference to our children and can help other children within the borough, then that’s a good start.
“For a teacher, one of the best ways to learn what helps children is to be around children. When I was young, there weren’t really any stories about emotional regulation or feelings. There wasn’t really anything in place.
“Now, it feels like there’s much more awareness of SEND and children’s needs. There’s a lot more development around how best to support their feelings. Now, we’ve got a lot more knowledge and resources.”
The book has already received glowing reviews and has been shortlisted for two awards. One teacher wrote: “What a beautiful book. I’m a reception teacher and brought this for my class, as we use Zones of Regulation, and it fits in perfectly. Great with helping little ones understand their big emotions and feelings.”
Another wrote: “As someone who spends every day supporting neurodivergent children, I’m always looking for resources that do more than simply name emotions—they help children understand, recognise and manage them in a meaningful way. This book has quickly become one of my favourite resources.
“The stories are engaging, the characters are relatable, and the conversations that naturally develop from them are often the most valuable part. Every time we’ve used this book at Neuro Bloom, it has encouraged connection, curiosity and deeper emotional understanding.
“This isn’t just another children’s book—it’s a fantastic therapeutic resource that supports emotional literacy, communication and self-regulation. Whether you’re a parent, teacher, therapist or anyone supporting children, I couldn’t recommend it more highly.”
You can find the Kingdom of Colourful Feelings here.
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